We All Want To Know How It Ends
by junebug13669
Summary: Samuel, Prince of McKinley, is on a quest to find his true love...or something like that.
1. The First Quest

**Title: **We All Want to Know How It Ends

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** Violence, Bad Humor, Magick(if you find that offense), Mild Swearing(I think at some point), SLASH

**Pairing: **Sam/Kurt

**Summary:** Samuel, Prince of McKinley has been sent on a quest to find his true love...or something like that. The title is a line from Heiswe's 'Happily Ever After, which you should listen to AT LEAST ONCE if you're going to read this. Look for the acoustic or the original version, that's the one I prefer.

**Disclaimer:** None of it's mine...seriously. The plot isn't even my idea. I just wrote it for someone else. If I owned it, Pezberry and Hevans would happen so fast your head would spin.

**A/N:** This was written for a prompt in the Second Annual SamKurt Meme. That's the thread I co-started with the OP's prompt. If it's not all there, or you just plain can't find it, I'll post it here so you can finish it. **I've posted the first bits there and then a link to this story, so if you can't find the rest on there, don't worry! I'll finish it on here! **

**This is unbetaed so any mistakes are mine, despite trying not to make any! **

**Con Crit is welcome, even if it's on something you don't like but please don't be mean-fanfiction is meant to be fun!**

**Part One - The First Quest**

"_Samuel_..."

Sam groaned internally as his stepmother's sickeningly sweet voice floated through the door of his father's study where he hid.

"I _know _you're in there, darling!" she called and Sam gave up, knowing that she would find him eventually. He was twenty years old, for heaven's sakes, and he needed to man up eventually.

He still didn't see why his father had had to remarry, especially to someone who was two years younger than his oldest son and (in Sam's opinion) a trollop to boot.

"Samuel! There you are!" Santana's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he stared at her stonily as she approached with a vicious smirk gracing her lips.

"Stepmother." he replied monotonously, placing the book he'd been reading on a nearby table so as to better remove the temptation to throw it at the girl.

"Oh, Sammy, don't be like that, darling. I just need a teensy, tiny, itty-bitty little favor." she drolled, dragging a finger down the front of his tunic in what she apparently thought was a seductive manner while glancing up from beneath her lashes the same way.

"Yes, stepmother? How may I be of service?" he gritted out, taking a step back from her finger, which curled into a clawed fist before dropping to her side.

"I have a friend in need of rescuing. From a tower at the edge of McKinley. Apparently, she's gone and gotten herself trapped in said tower and is under the Curse of the Fair Maiden, which is nearly unbreakable by other means." Santana replied, scowling as she turned away and began to pace the study furiously.

"And I come into this how?" Sam asked, hoping she wasn't about to say what he thought she would.

"You're going to fetch her for me." Santana said, a wicked grin curling at the edges of her lips.

"No."

"Yes. Or I'll kill your siblings and make it look like an accident." Santana threatened and Sam knew she had him. He would never voluntarily allow harm to come to his siblings and she knew it.

Her finger curled into the V of his tunic as she pulled him closer, almost pressing their lips together, so close he could feel her hot breath on his lips as she spoke.

"Her name is Quinn." she murmured, pulling away and scrunching her face up as she shrugged. "Just so you know _something _about the girl you're falling in love with."

* * *

><p><em>In the square...<em>

"...that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life."

Kurtis clapped wildly as Blaine the Bard finished his latest telling of _Death and the Three Brothers_, even more entranced by the hugely enigmatic(if abnormally short) young man.

"And what would you know of Death, minstrel?" a sharp voice cut through the applause and Blaine straightened up even as Kurtis' head turned toward the familiar voice.

"Sire." Blaine said in reply, bowing deeply as the prince strode through the rapidly dispersing crowd. Kurtis made to move away, but something tugged at him to remain and watch what was bound to happen. "How may I be of service to you this fine day?"

"It's been too long, my friend." Sam said, chuckling as he pulled Blaine in for a warm hug that Kurtis envied more than he could put into words.

"That it has, Sam." Blaine said, grinning cheekily and Sam flicked his head, flicking his wispy blonde hair from his eyes. "So, what _can _I do for you?"

"Sadly, Blaine, it's not your assistance that I require but rather your devoted enthusiast, Kurtis of Dalton. I need his assistance on a quest for my vile stepmother and, as of late, where you go, he seems to follow."

That statement broke Kurtis out of his thoughts. Was he truly that bad? Did he truly follow Blaine around like a lovesick schoolgirl?

"Kurtis! What a coincidence-Sam here was just looking for you!" Blaine's voice drew Kurtis' eyes up to meet murky, if startlingly green ones.

"Highness." Kurtis replied automatically, half bowing and half curtseying, as though his body wasn't sure what it wanted to do.

"Call me Sam. _Please _call me Sam." Sam begged and Kurtis nodded.

"Only if you call me Kurt."

"Done. Now how much of our conversation did you actually hear?"

Kurt flushed bright red at being caught eavesdropping and his audience chuckled.

"I should think that means all of it, Sam." Blaine said, clapping Kurt on the shoulder and leading the younger man after Sam as he walked away, chuckling.

* * *

><p><em>The Castle Courtyard...<em>

"No. Absolutely not!" Kurt replied to Sam's request, shaking his head violently.

"Kurt, come on." Blaine pleaded, clasping the younger boy's arm. "Just this once."

"Do you know why I was exiled from Dalton? Do you know how it feels to be abandoned by everyone you love and kicked out of your own home? I swore when I found a place that accepted me, I would stop this madness-"

"But it hasn't stopped, has it?" Sam interjected and Kurt's eyes locked on his face questioningly.

"Highness?" he asked breathlessly.

"I had a friend once, like you. He swore off all magick, being the son of a preacher, and refused to practice. The problem with magick is that, if you don't learn to control it properly, the magick learns to control you. My friend managed to kill his own father with a stray thought during prayer because his magick grew uncontrolled until became so dark it killed him. His home caught fire and burned everyone inside it alive."

Kurt couldn't breathe. He couldn't think.

"No. No, I have a handle on it." Kurt protested and Sam cocked his head.

"How long has it been since you cast a spell, mage? Months? Years? Anything unusual happening lately around you? Any unexplainable accidents? Things vanishing and showing up somewhere else? Odd weather?"

Kurt shook his head but couldn't help but wonder...lately the skies where he went had been overcast, murky and roiling; and hadn't his pouch made an odd appearance just the other day...inside a pumpkin?

"Let's say that what you say is true and let's also say that I hypothetically agree to come with you on this quest. What are my chances of coming out alive?" Kurt asked hesitantly and Blaine clapped him on the shoulder happily.

"That's the spirit!" he said, turning back to Sam. "You'd have to find the Graces first."

"I thought about the Fates, rather."

"No. That's no good - no one's been able to locate them no matter who or how hard they've tried. I'd say go with the Graces."

"Very well. Come along Kurt-we must ready ourselves for our journey."

Three days after the conversation, a very disgruntled mage was bundled upon a horse whose name was Lydia despite being a boy-horse and set off with Sam to locate the three Graces.

"This will never work, you know." Kurt snapped at Sam's cheerfulness at being on the road, too tired to care that one word from Sam-one _gesture_-and his head would roll.

"Nonsense, Kurt, we're almost there."

A day and a half later found the duo standing at the edge of a large, dense wood that looked more intimidating than friendly.

"I never thought that 'The Woods of Darkness' meant literally dark. I just thought that the wood was dark in color or something." Sam said, scratching his head as his brow furrowed adorably in confusion.

"Does this mean we get to go back ho-"

"_Help! Help me please!_" a voice screamed from between the branches and both boys stood, silently waiting to see if it was real. "_Somebody! Anybody-help me!_" the voice called again and Sam drew his sword, pulling an exasperated sigh from Kurt.

"Fine." Kurt snapped, tying the horses to a sturdy branch before rushing after Sam's back as the boy ran into the darkness.

* * *

><p><em>In the Woods of Darkness...<em>

"I don't like this." Kurt whispered, pulling his cloak around him tighter to keep the chill of the shadows out. "I don't like this at all."

"Hush." Sam hissed in response and Kurt was just about to tell him off when the voice from before broke the silence.

"_Help me!_" it yelled once more before an agonizing scream cut through the woods.

"Samuel!" Kurt yelled as the boy took off into the darkness once more. Kurt chased him, just keeping his back in sight. He'd just decided that his lungs and heart were going to burst from his chest when he smacked into a sturdy, well-muscled back and fell to the forest floor. "Sam, what-"

"Shh." Sam whispered, not moving and Kurt pulled himself upright, finally taking in his surroundings.

They stood at the edge of a clearing that was draped with vines in many different thicknesses and covered with everything from thorns to gaping wounds that pulsed angrily as if they had their own heartbeat.

But that was impossible...

...wasn't it?

Kurt's eyes were drawn to the middle of the clearing where a body lay, broken and covered in dark spots that Kurt was sure he didn't want to know what they were.

Sam made to move forward but Kurt's hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist pulling him out of the clearing.

"What-"

"Don't." Kurt said, voice shaking. Memories were coming back from his time in his hometown with Elder Schuester before things had gone to hell in a handbasket. "Don't move. Don't breathe. I know what this is."

"Can you do a spell?" Sam asked quietly.

Neither boy noticed the vines sliding slowly, almost undetectably across the ground and up around their legs.

"I-I can tr-" Kurt's response was cut off by his scream as he was yanked upside down through the air, away from Sam.

"Kurt!" Sam hollered, tripping as he moved to go after Kurt, only noticing the writhing vines when they slid over his pelvis and torso, wrapping themselves around his arms and beginning to tug slowly in opposite directions. "KURT, HELP US!" Sam managed to holler before a thick vine wrapped itself around his mouth, cutting him off.

Kurt was fighting above the clearing, trying to remember his lessons with Elder Schuester desperately, struggling as he heard Sam get cut off by what was surely more vines.

* * *

><p><em>"Kurtis, do you remember what I taught you yesterday?" Elder Schuester queried of the eight year old who was bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet as the elder tended to his garden.<em>

_"Nothing is what it seems. Never take anything at face value until you can safely prove that it is harmless." Kurt quoted and Elder Schuester smiled, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder warmly._

_"Very good, my boy. Now I'd like to give you an example of that-follow me." Elder Schuester replied, crooking an aged finger at Kurt and walking through the garden toward the woods._

_After what seemed like a very long time to Kurt, they arrived in a clearing where a beautiful plant was sprouting from the ground and twining its branches up nearby tree trunks, circling them almost determinedly as it sprouted purple and red blossoms along their lengths._

_"It's beautiful." Kurt murmured, absolutely spellbound as he reached out a hand to touch one of the stems, startling when Schuester's hand grabbed his wrist tightly._

_"Do not be deceived, Kurtis. This plant is deadly to almost anyone who crosses paths with it." he said, dropping Kurt's wrist and, very suddenly, Kurt could see that the vines-if that's what they truly were-actually __**were** writhing, wrapping themselves around the groaning trees and **squeezing **as if trying to squeeze the very life from the wood._

_The vines were covered in razor-sharp thorns and Kurt couldn't help but shudder as he took in the vile-looking boils infecting the plant's flesh, throbbing and glowing violently red._

_"What is it?"_

_"It's called 'The Devil's Snare' and only sunlight can kill it."_

* * *

><p>As the vines wrapped themselves tighter around Kurt's torso, he went still, dropping his arms so that they hung down, prepared for what he had to do the moment the vines stopped moving around him.<p>

The vines stopped.

Kurt took a deep breath and searched his brain desperately for words as the vines began to squeeze his torso again and he could only hope that he could overcome this before it killed them all.

"Devil's snare, vile killing vine, how doth thou truly like to shine? The damp, dark place your home is in, shall be no more let sunshine in!" Kurt hollered, the last of his breath squeezing itself from his lungs as the world began to grow dark at the edges.

He'd just closed his eyes in defeat when the area behind his lids was illuminated and he felt the vines retreating, heard a pained squealing, smelled something like flesh burning as he fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

He blinked wildly, trying to see something in the bright light when it was extinguished suddenly as the squealing died out slowly.

Spots danced in front of his eyes as he took in the clearing now.

The body still lay in the center but Sam was pushing himself up off the ground and stumbling toward him and Kurt had never been so happy to see someone in his entire lifetime as Sam's arms wrapped themselves around him, filling him with warmth and love.

"I could kiss you, mage." Sam whispered, and Kurt's face flushed like a tomato as he pulled himself from the prince's embrace.

"That poor boy." Kurt said, remembering the body in the clearing and making his way to it hesitantly. A tuft of soft brown hair peeked from beneath the scorched vines and they moved as the duo approached warily.

Sam brought his sword back up and Kurt readied himself for another spell when the pile of vines groaned in agony and an arm shot out from beneath them.

"Thank you..." a voice murmured, pushing the vines away from its body and sitting up shakily. "Whoever you are, thank you."

Kurt's brow furrowed as he took in the boy's appearance-the untidy brown hair, the soft brown eye, the curve of the jaw...

"Finn? Finnegan of Dalton?" Kurt asked in disbelief and the younger man looked up in confusion.

"Do I know you?" the boy asked, scrubbing a hand across his face and through his hair, making it stick up even more.

"Finn, it's me!" Kurt said joyously, collapsing down beside the boy and running his hands over the boy's face.

Sam wasn't sure why that caused a spike of jealousy to flow through him.

"It's Kurt!" Kurt said and a light dawned over Finn's face as he took in Kurt's, placing his own hands on Kurt's cheeks and pulling him in for a gentle kiss.

"Kurt, who is this?" Sam interrupted and bith boys glanced up at him as if just remembering he was there.

"Who are you?" Finn countered, shoving Kurt behind him as best he could on the ground.

"I'm Samuel, prince of McKinley." Sam snapped and Finn cocked his head. "Who are you?"

"I'm Finnegan of Dalton. I'm Kurt's stepbrother and I've been looking for him for the last year. You can't have him." Finn said childishly and Sam's hand tightened on his sword.

He wondered briefly how much Kurt would hate him if he dispatched this fool right now.

"Oh for-_neither_ of you can **have **me because I'm not anybody's property. Finn, this is Samuel, I'm helping him on his quest. Samuel, this is Finn, my stepbrother from Dalton. Are we done with out childish tantrums now? Because I'd like to get this over with and go home."

Sudden, harsh clapping drew their attention to the side of the clearing where a young woman, cloaked in white and absolutely glowing with resplendant beauty stood, looking happily amused.

"Well done, mage." the young woman said, almost gliding along the ground as she moved closer to the trio, white cloak billowing out behind her like an ethereal mist as she came to a stop before Kurt. "No one before you has been able to defeat one of my pets so utterly as you just have. I bow to you in respect of your abilities-"

She curtsied so low that Kurt and Sam both wondered how she still stood and then drew her cloak about her once more, smiling.

"-may I inquire your name, mage? And perhaps those of your companions?" she asked, softly, dark hair and white cloak moving as if blown by a gentle wind.

"I-I-I am Kurtis of Dalton. This is my stepbrother, Finnegan of Dalton, and my...sworded-friend is Prince Samuel of McKinley." Kurt stuttered out and the young woman smiled even more warmly than before. She turned to Sam and studied him for a moment before speaking.

"You are in search of something that even you do not know of, correct?" she asked, eyes peering at Sam, almost as if they were seeing through him and he shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"I seek the Graces, milady. I seek their guidance to find a Fair Maiden." Sam said, continuing before he could stop himself. "I seek my Destiny."

The young woman threw her head back and laughed happily before responding.

"These are wise words that you have spoken, Samuel, Prince of McKinley." she said, curtsying once more. "I am Splendor. You three may call me Rachel, if you'd like. I am one of those you seek. Come along-my sisters and I have been awaiting your arrival."

* * *

><p><em>Deep in the Woods of Darkness...<em>

The woods seemed to part for Rachel and the trio followed quickly. The one time Kurt shot a glance over his shoulder to look behind him, it looked as if the path they were following had never even been there.

The group crested a hill and looked down on a quaint cottage with a thatched roof, made of materials the men could neither identify nor understand based on its appearance.

Suddenly, Rachel gathered up her skirts and threw herself down the hill, tumbling over and over, laughing all the way before landing at the bottom unharmed and brushing herself off.

"Come along!" she called playfully, turning and disappearing into the cottage with the smoking chimney and homey-looking windows.

Sam shrugged and began his descent carefully, trying to avoid slipping, soon followed by both Kurt and Finn.

The trio of boys thought, at first, that the hill Rachel had tumbled down didn't look that steep but when they'd been carefully stepping for what seemed like hours and they still hadn't made it any closer to the cottage, they grew frustrated.

"Maybe it's an enchantment of some sort?" Sam asked, looking to Kurt and Finn, who looked like he was thinking hard. Kurt threw his hands up in annoyance.

"I'm not a magick detector, Samuel! I'm not one of your hunting dogs!" Kurt replied in exasperation.

Neither boy was paying attention to Finn and the light slowly dawning on his face as he stared the hill down, occasionally glancing at the cottage.

"I _know _that Kurt! I just assumed-"

"Don't assume things! You make an ass out of both of us-_FINN! NO!_" Kurt howled as the taller boy took a running leap off the top of the hill and went down hard.

Kurt and Sam watched, horror struck, as Finn tumbled down the hill, coming to a stop at the bottom and not moving.

"Please, be alive! _Please _be alive, Finn!" he muttered to himself, sighing in relief when the boy moved.

Finn rolled over on the ground and stood, brushing himself free of dirt and grass before glancing up at the top of the hill.

"Come on!" he hollered up to them, waving an arm to indicate that they should get down there soon. "It's not as hard as it looks! It's kind of fun!"

Sam and Kurt glanced at each other for a moment before Sam shrugged and settled himself at the top of the hill. He covered his face tightly before rolling himself over the edge...and soon enough he was standing triumphantly at the bottom with Finn.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me." Kurt muttered when he realized what he'd have to do to reach the bottom of the enchanted hill.


	2. The Second Quest, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **None of it's mine. Seriously. Don't sue.

**Part Two - The Second Quest**

Sam and Finn were both on their second bowl of hot soup when Kurt finally made his appearance in the doorway of the cottage and Sam snorted quietly into his soup at Kurt's ruffled appearance, drawing a scathing glare.

The phrase 'If looks could kill' came to mind instantly.

"Welcome to our humble home, mage." said a quiet looking Asian girl that had introduced herself as Good Cheer, or Tina, the moment Sam had crossed the threshold of the cottage, stripping him of his cloak and armor faster than he could protest and pushing a bowl of piping hot soup into his hands before herding him towards the table where Finn already sat, inhaling his own soup. A golden brown loaf of hearty bread sat, sliced and steaming, beside a large pitcher and a few fired clay mugs that looked homemade but were deep and tall.

Tina fluttered at him until he settled himself beside Finn, pouring him a drink that was gold, almost iridescent in color and smelled like roses.

"Eat." she ordered "Drink. Few make it as far as you have and those that do we welcome openly, for only those with sound mind and pure heart can make it past the hill safely."

Sam took a piece of bread and doused it in the broth of the soup, eating until he could only suck on his fingers to remove the delicious broth before taking a deep drag out of the mug of the golden rose-liquid. To his surprise, it tasted nothing like what he thought it would but was full of all his favorite flavors and something that warmed his insides and built his strength to the point where he thought he might be able to fly if he so wished.

Sooner rather than later, Kurt was also slurping down his own meal and as soon as the trio was watered and fed to the point of drowsiness they were led to simple beds and laid upon them and had covers thrown upon them.

Sam drifted off thinking that this was, perhaps, the most comfortable bed he'd ever known.

* * *

><p><em>The Next Morning...<em>

Sam awoke to the smell of fresh bread and something fruity and sugary tickling his nose and he rose from the bed, stretching contentedly.

"Did you sleep well, highness?" a different voice asked and Sam jumped, eyes falling on a rather plump young lady with flawless skin the color of ebony and eyes that shone with a jovial light that gave her the appearance of a nymph.

"I, uh...yes. Yes, I did, milady. And, please, call me Sam." he responded, running a hand through his hair as she wrapped him in a light blanket whose appearance was deceiving, as it felt much warmer.

"Breakfast is outside on the lawn if you're hungry." she said, tucking the blanket tighter around his shoulders. "And I'm Mirth, if you're wondering. I prefer Mercedes, if you don't mind, and I'll call you Sam."

"All right...Mercedes." Sam replied and Mercedes shooed him out of the cottage with a smile, nattering on about preparations as she closed the door behind him. He clutched the edges of the blanket and turned to find the bright morning light shining down through the overhead branches, casting welcoming shadows and spots of sunlight on the forest floor.

"Sam! Over here!" Rachel's voice called and he turned to see her sitting in a large patch of sunlight waving him over. Kurt sat cross legged, eating something out of a wooden bowl that was staining his lips and chin purple and he sat down next to the both of them. "Please! Eat something!" Rachel said, waving a hand at the myriad of dishes placed on the ground.

There were a variety of fresh berries and fruits that looked enticing as well as various vegetables and something that looked like fluffy clouds set beside a number of bowls of thick, syrupy juices. A plate stacked high with flat, fluffy brown cakes sent a delicious aroma his way and another loaf of the golden bread from the night before sat beside a pile of the wooden bowls Kurt was currently eating out of. There was also a few pitchers of different colored liquids set beside a few more tumblers, a few of which had fallen on their sides.

"I must thank you for taking us in on such short notice." Sam said, filling one of the bowls with some of everything except the cloud-like fluff and choosing a deeper, red-colored drink rather than the gold of last night. The juice was sweet without being sickly and Sam made a noise of contentment. "You and your sisters are very hospitable to strangers."

"Thank you, Samuel." Rachel said, waving a hand over the almost gone loaf of bread. Sam choked as the bread replenished itself and Rachel turned back to face him. "I know you mean us no harm-you would not have made it past the hill otherwise."

"So, it _is _enchanted then?" Sam asked around the food in his mouth and Rachel nodded. "Is Finnegan up and abou-"

There was a bout of racous laughter from the trees and Tina darted out from between them, laughing happily as Finn chased her, trying to grab her playfully, laughing as well. The duo darted in and out a few more times before Tina made her way toward the sitting group and flopped down beside Rachel gracefully, Finn following in rapture. He flopped down beside her, his legs disappearing between the folds of her skirts and that was when Sam noticed each girl's dress.

Rachel still wore the pure white of her cloak the night before and it was made of layers of a gauzy, sheer material that left little to one's imagination but was still modest when draped over the smaller girl. The sleeves were long and clasped at each of Rachel's wrists and when she moved, he could see tanned skin through the slits.

Tina wore a shocking shade of blue, almost royal in color and she wore it well, the color contrasting tantalizingly against her olive colored skin and maker her pretty brown eyes startlingly so. It seemed to be made of a thicker material than Rachel's gown and was drawn tightly across ther stomach, almost like a bodice, coming to a point at her waistline. It was trimmed with a faded sort of gold, almost red in the correct light, kind of like a star looked from the distance.

"Is everything to your liking?" Tina asked, noticing that Sam had stopped eating to take in the girls' appearances. "Would you like something else instead? Perhaps some sort of tart, or pastry?"

"What? Oh, no! Everything is delicious-I was distracted by the gowns you wear and was wondering what they're made of? They look like you pulled the from nature herself."

Tina and Rachel both laughed and Sam couldn't help but notice how different their laughs were. Rachel's was a happy, round sort of sound and Tina's tinkled like a bell.

"You are closer than you think, Samuel." Tina replied, her black hair shining in the sunlight. "But you wish to be on your way soon, I can tell. As soon as you've had your fill, we can retire inside and see what the stars hold for the three of you."

* * *

><p>Sam was coerced into trying the cloud-fluff by both Kurt, saying that it was delicious, and Rachel, claiming that it was Tina's specialty and she rarely brought it out. He was pleasantly surprised at how light it was on his tongue, melting away like chocolate he'd once tasted and leaving him with a warm feeling inside, like he'd just drunk the sweetest wine in the land.<p>

"Is everyone finished?" Tina asked and Sam furrowed his brows.

"Do you not eat?" he queried and Tina clapped her hands twice, a smile gracing her pretty face.

"We do not sleep, milord." she replied and stood with Rachel, crooking a finger at the boys and turning to head into the cottage.

Sam looked back and noticed that the display of breakfast had vanished.

* * *

><p><em>Inside the Cottage...<em>

The air inside the cottage had grown thick and stifling and Sam tugged at the neck of his tunic as Rachel closed the door, gliding off into a different room and leaving them alone with Tina.

"This way." she said, leading them into a dark back room where the floor was made of packed dirt rather than the wood of the other room and the walls were lined with heavy stones, pebbles wedged in the empty spaces. "Please, seat yourselves and wait here for Mercedes. She'll be along momentarily."

And with that, Tina left the boys and shut the door tightly behind her.

"Why do I suddenly feel like this is the slaughter and we're the pigs?" Kurt whispered, leaning toward Sam, who just shrugged in response.

"I've never been this warmly loved by anyone in my entire life. I'll take what I can get." he said, leaving Kurt and going to sit by Finn, who'd already located a chair and was fiddling with something that had been laying upon it. "And it seems as though your brother is content as well."

"Do not fiddle with that Finnegan of Dalton!" a voice called strongly and Finn dropped the item onto the floor, cowering away as Mercedes swept in majestically, snapping the item up off the floor. "Foolish young man. I spent hours making this for this exact purpose and you nearly undo it with one wrong move of your clumsy fingers."

"Sorry." Finn murmured, sinking lower into his chair even as Kurt sat delicately in his own.

"Don't do it again unless you're trained by either me or one of my sisters."

"Yes, ma'am." Finn said instantly and Sam chuckled as the boy grew darker in the faint light, surely blushing.

Mercedes bustled about over near the fire, lighting the object she'd taken from Finn and blowing on it, the embers dancing on the end and lighting up her face as a rancid smell filled Sam's nostrils.

"What do you smell?" Mercedes' rough voice asked the trio, turning first to Kurt.

"Brimstone and fire." he replied and Mercedes closed her eyes momentarily before answering.

"Your quest will be filled with pain and suffering, physically, mentally, emotionally. Do not give up hope even when it seems that there is none. Hope is eternal just as love is eternal and only with love will hope prevail. Do not give up hope, no matter what." she finished, turning to Sam and asking him again.

"Rancid flesh. Burning fat tinged with something sweet." he replied and Mercedes closed her eyes once more, taking a breath before answering.

"Your quest is filled with lies and deception but not your own. Love will find you, but not in the way that you think it should and happiness will find you as well but you must finished this quest before it will happen. You may not survive this quest if you do not put everything you have into the end result." she opened her eyes once more and turned to Finn, who was shaking by this time having heard tales of woe bestowed upon both his companions.

"What do you smell?" she nearly growled out and Finn opened his mouth in fear.

"Damp earth. Night breeze and innocence lost." he replied and Mercedes closed her eyes before she spoke.

"Your quest is closer than you think, your eyes betray you and your mind lies to them, telling them you want something different than what is in your heart. Follow your heart and your heart will steer you down the correct pathway. Do not be fooled by your mind's protests and stand strong."

Mercedes opened her eyes once more and looked upon the quiet young men before her.

She turned away and procured a bowl, filling it with a bubbling liquid from the hearth and swirling it a few times before placing it in front of Kurt.

"Tell me what you see."

Kurt watched the swirling waters until they grew flat and gasped softly.

"Children. I see children." he said breathlessly.

"Anything else?" Mercedes asked and Kurt shook his head, looking up at her.

"Congratulations. Children mean future which means that you will survive the coming days and many following." Mercedes said, swirling the bowl again as she took it from Kurt and placed it in front of Sam. "Tell me what you see."

Sam watched the swirling bowl grow flat and deep in the bowl he saw flashing, as if light were being bounced of a blade, and then the liquid trickled red before the color exploded in the bowl, turning the entire thing almost black.

"Flashing, like a blade in the light, and something red almost black. Like blood."

"The coming days and your path will be filled with bloodshed. Be careful where you place your allegiances and you will survive. You must now find a special blade to fight your worst fear but beware-that fear may change along the way." she grabbed the bowl a final time and swirled it again before placing it before Finn. "Tell me what you see."

Finn was quiet a moment before he answered.

"Woods. Trees bathed both in darkness and light and a cottage like this one, but different." he said in confusion and Mercedes sighed sadly before she answered.

"Following this quest's end, you are to return to these woods in search of true love. You should bid farewell to your loved ones, as once you set foot upon this path you will never be seen again. You are bound to these woods, Finnegan of Dalton, and you will never set foot from them again if you return."

"And what if I just don't return?" Finn asked, causing Mercedes to spill the liquid on the floor, where it hissed and bubbled, eating the dirt away like acid.

"Then, you and your true love with both die painful deaths at the hands of your enemies. Seperated forever until the end of time, which will not be soon."

* * *

><p><em>Back outside the cottage...<em>

Mercedes did not come out to wish their guests farewell and good luck, drained from her fortune telling and bid them follow her advice instead as they all fled the room.

Rachel stood giving Kurt and Sam instructions on how to leave the forest as Tina stood with Finn, both murmuring quietly with one another.

"So, you just head north until you reach a fountain-it's very hard to miss. It's a large stone thing in the side of an invisible mountain-"

"So we won't be able to see it?"

"No, no, no! I said that the _mountain _was invisible not the fountain. The fountain is perfectly visible. Anyways, you approach the fountain and scoop some of the water out with the wooden cup on the lip. Place a few drops of blood in the water, say that you wish to be at the edge of the forest where you entered-tell Finn to say where you both entered that way you won't be seperated-and drink the water. You'll be where you started when you wake up."

"Wake up?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

"Of course! The resulting breakdown of your body and its transfer through the underground root system would be excruciating at best. This way you only wake up where you want to go with a mild muscle ache instead." she said with an innocent smile and Kurt groaned.

"Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" Kurt said to sam sarcastically before stalking off toward Finn and Tina.

"Now, Samuel, the blade you're looking for is known as the Blade of Lima-before you ask, no it doesn't flash green-but it's made from the horns of the minotaur so it's practically unbreakable and is deadly to anything evil it touches. It's been hidden somewhere in the mountain pass between Dalton and McKinley, deep in the underground caves and there are trials you must face to earn the sword, so be wary."

At that moment, Finn and Kurt approached and Sam was lead away in the direction of the fountain.


End file.
